Liverpool show the difference again as Arsenal title credentials tested and found wanting

Liverpool still lead Arsenal in knowing how to win matches when they are not at their best, finding a way to turn one-point into three.

Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai celebrates scoring the winner against Arsenal. Pic: Peter Byrne/PA Wire.

TOO EARLY in the season to call this a must-win for either side in the title race, but fair to say it felt like the outcome meant more to Arsenal. They needed to make a winning statement. Liverpool, despite their eye-wateringly expensive summer signings, had already proven themselves last season and defeat for them would not have felt so impactful.

Arsenal have, of course, spent record sums too in an attempt to close the gap on last season’s runaway champions and prove they now have a squad to take the final step to glory after three impressive consecutive seasons in which they have finished runners-up. Unbeaten in their last six against Liverpool, they had not won here in 13 years, when Mikel Arteta was a hard-working Arsenal midfielder and not an even harder-working Arsenal manager. So, this was the perfect stage to announce, albeit in only the third match, their starry signings could bridge the gap.